America’s safest cities revealed in new 2026 ranking
FILE-A school crossing guard helps students cross the street as they head to school. (Photo by Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Public safety is a key issue for officials nationwide when they institute measures to keep residents safe.
From crime to health crises, cities take different approaches to ensure Americans feel most secure and WalletHub released its rankings of the safest cities in 2026.
The personal finance website collected data by comparing 182 cities across three key categories: 1) home & community safety, 2) natural-disaster risk, and 3) financial safety.
Top 20 safest cities in America
Why you should care:
WalletHub assessed key data points using 41 metrics. Each benchmark was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 symbolizing the highest level of safety.
Here are the top 10 safest cities in the United States
- Juneau, Alaska
- Warwick, Rhode Island
- Overland Park, Kansas
- Burlington, Vermont
- South Burlington, Vermont
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Casper, Wyoming
- Boise, Idaho
- Yonkers, New York
- Portland, Maine
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Fremont, California
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Fargo, North Dakota
- Missoula, Montana
- Bismark, North Dakota
- Columbia, Maryland
- Salem, Oregon
To see the complete list of cities, click here.
An analysis of the top safest cities
Dig deeper:
WalletHub ranked Juneau, Alaska, Warwick, Rhode Island, and Overland Park, Kansas as the top three safest cities in America. Researchers provided a breakdown of their rankings of these locales.
Juneau, Alaska
WalletHub ranked Juneau, Alaska as the safest city in the United States, in part because it has the lowest murder rate and the lowest pedestrian death rates. Juneau also has the 62nd-lowest number of thefts and there were no terrorist attacks or related incidents recorded in the city during the past 10 years.
The report found that residents in the area are at low risk for natural disasters or severe weather events. Juneau has the second-lowest risk of flooding, second-lowest risk of tornadoes, and seventh-lowest risk of wildfires.
Juneau also has the 21st-lowest percentage of residents below the poverty line and the 20th-highest annual employment growth. The city also has the ninth-highest median credit score.
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick, Rhode Island ranks second on WalletHub’s list of safest cities in the nation because it has the fourth-lowest number of aggravated assaults per capita and the lowest number of murders out of the cities listed in the study. The city also has the sixth-lowest number of thefts per capita,
According to WalletHub, Warwick ranks as the city with the third-lowest risk of hail, ninth-lowest risk of wildfires, 24th-lowest risk of tornadoes and 38th-lowest risk of earthquakes.
Meanwhile, the city also has the fourth-lowest number of residents without health insurance and 10th-lowest percentage who are living in poverty. Warwick also has the 37th-fewest fraud complaints per capita.
Overland Park, Kansas
The third-safest city is Overland Park, Kansas in part, based on the 19th-lowest pedestrian death rate in the nation and the 21st-lowest number of uninsured drivers. The city also has the 15th-lowest traffic deaths among the cities assessed in the report.
Overland has the 14th-lowest unemployment rate in the U.S., the fourth-highest median credit score, the third-lowest number of residents living in poverty, and the ninth-lowest number of "owner occupied housing units" with a mortgage that spend 35% of their income on housing.
WalletHub noted that the city has the fourth-highest employer-based retirement plan access rate and the sixth-highest participation rate.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by WalletHub, which created its ranking of the safest cities across key metrics, with each one graded on a 100-point scale, with a perfect score representing the highest level of safety. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.